Industry leaders prepare for Business Travel Market

18 June 2011

With less than a week to go until the third annual Business Travel Market (BTM), the conference & exhibition for European travel buyers, a host of exhibitor activities are already in place for the two day event.

Being held between June 22nd and 23rd, at London’s Excel, this year is set to be bigger and better than ever with exhibitors taking the opportunity to maximise their presence with timely news announcements.

“We’re really excited to hear more about the announcements our exhibitors are planning for this year’s event” said Paul Robin, event director, Business Travel Market.

“With a key European audience of VIP hosted buyers, BTM is the perfect opportunity for our exhibitors to discuss their new products and innovations in order to differentiate themselves from competitors in the market.”

Platinum Sponsor Qatar Airways is inviting attendees to discover a different side to its celebrated on-board service. With wine tasting on the stand and a sommelier to explain the reasoning behind the choices in top-class wines, this offers a great opportunity for attendees to meet the team and experience the product, without take-off.

Additionally, there will be the opportunity to meet representatives from Qatar Airways’ key European markets on a 1-2-1 basis at the stand for the duration of the event in the comfort of Qatar Airways’ BTM VIP Lounge.

As part of this year’s activities all VIP Hosted Buyers can enter a card drop prize draw with the chance to win two Business Class tickets.

Qatar Airways has been going from strength-to-strength recently, have been recognised as the offering the Middle East’s Leading Airline Business Class by the World Travel Awards earlier this year.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel - At this year’s BTM CWT will be serving up a host of tennis based activities, from live Wimbledon tennis on screens at the stand to a Wii tennis competition and fresh fruit smoothies.

With the CWT on hand to provide business travel advice, whilst taking on competitors in the tennis stakes, it’s set to be an eventful area at this year’s BTM.

In addition, 10 pairs of tickets for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals are up for grabs at stand 634. CWT is also one of the sponsors of this year’s BTM Miami Beach Party and has a dedicated website detailing activity at the event.

Portman Travel – BTM’s official travel management company, will use BTM as the official launchpad for its latest technology, which will be unveiled on the stand at midday on Wednesday June 23rd.

Portman Travel, one of the UK’s longest-established travel management companies, will also be giving away an iPad2 to one lucky VIP hosted buyer in a card drop prize draw.

Etihad Airways – The airline – fresh from claiming the title of World’s Leading Airline at the World Travel Awards - will be promoting the launch of Business Connect in the UK.

Business Connect is a new loyalty programme for SMEs which allows employees to collect points, and pool them within their business to generate additional rewards.

The airline’s CEO James Hogan - pictured, front page - will also be in attendance, as keynote speaker on day one of BTM and Etihad is also sponsoring this year’s new, exclusive PA Promotion, which will run across both days of the event.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts - Visitors to this year’s BTM will be given a sneak preview of the new Aloft London ExCeL with an exclusive pop-up bar on the Starwood Hotels & Resorts stand serving up Aloft Hotels cocktails.

The 252-bedroom Aloft London ExCeL is set to open at the end of this year.

Directly connected to the International Exhibition and Convention Centre, the hotel is set to bring the brand’s urban-influenced design, high technology and signature loft-like guest rooms to the United Kingdom.

Budget Rent-a-Car - Will be talking about their new mobile booking facility, which aims to make car hire bookings easier for smart phone users on the move.

In addition, Budget Rent-a-Car will also have a sporty Citroen DS3 Racing vehicle on the stand for delegates to admire, as well as competition prizes giving away complimentary rentals and discounts.

Chambers Travel Management - Chambers will launch an exciting new market-leading application at this year’s BTM.

The product has been developed in-house by Chambers utilising its award-winning technology. The revolutionary application will be unveiled on the Chambers/GlobalStar stand at 15:00 on Wednesday June 22nd.

To celebrate the launch, Chambers will be giving all visitors to its stand the opportunity to win an Apple iPad 2.

Delegates can stop by the stand any time during the two-day event to be in with a chance of winning this iconic prize. Following the launch at 4pm, Chambers CEO, Christopher Thelen, will be speaking in the ‘Back to the Future? How important is a travel policy, control and process cost transparency?’ conference session.

GlobalStar Travel Management – At BTM, GlobalStar will be showcasing FareStar, which allows GlobalStar consultants to search a global database with fares from every country where there is a GlobalStar partner.

This functionality means that participating members can share management and/or fulfilment for corporate accounts on a global basis through their agent’s desktops. This is done in real time and is unmatched by any other product in the market today.

FareStar technology allows members, on any major GDS, the ability to search, compare, reserve, have tickets issued and maintain visibility of the reservation and full management of the reservation.

Mint Hotel – The hotel group will be celebrating the opening of Mint Hotel Amsterdam, the group’s first international hotel which opened earlier this year. The 553-room hotel, occupies a prime position overlooking the IJ River on Oosterdoksstraat in the heart of Amsterdam – a short five minutes’ walk from Central Station and 15 minutes from Schiphol Airport.

Ideal for leisure or business trips, Mint Hotel Amsterdam boasts stunning meetings and events spaces - including a rooftop SkyLounge space with private function rooms - all with floor-to-ceiling windows exposing breathtaking views of the city. ( i think there is a prize with this – see newsletter)

Oberoi Hotels and Resorts – Oberoi will be celebrating the opening of the Oberoi, Gurgaon, located in the heart of the business and commercial district of Delhi National Capital Region. This urban sanctuary prides itself on a quiet resort setting, personalised service and the best of modern amenities.

The Oberoi Gurgaon is spread over nine acres of lush landscaping and water features, the architecture of the hotel focuses upon a ‘Jewel Box’ - a minimalist edifice in glass and steel that houses the lobby, dining and meeting facilities.